Black Friday 2012: Earlier Hours?
Nov. 26th, 2012 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ameusa90Black Friday 2012: Earlier Hours?
This year major retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy opened their doors on Thanksgiving Day for eager shoppers to get an early start on Black Friday sales. There were people lining up in front the stores as early as 3pm Thanksgiving Day in order to be one of the first to get their hand on some goodies. According to Bloomberg.com, in order to get shoppers to spend more than last year, retailers have continued to turn Black Friday, originally a one-day event after Thanksgiving, into a week’s worth of deals and discounts. A couple of years ago chains started opening at midnight and this year Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys “R” Us Inc. pushed it to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Other chains began offering Black Friday deals online as early as last weekend.
So how much do earlier hours for Black Friday actually help businesses? Well Marshall Cohen, a retail analyst for NPD Group Inc. said that the Thanksgiving rush has turned Black Friday into what shopping is like on a typical Saturday. He also said that just because they extended hours doesn’t mean shoppers have more relatives to buy for and more money to spend. More hours doesn’t always mean more business.
This extension of the Black Friday sales onto Thanksgiving Day has sparked protests especially from Wal-Mart employees. More than 26 protests took place on Thanksgiving with less than 50 employees participating. Employees felt that earlier hours would give them less time celebrating with their families. Ironically the earlier start time attracted more parents and kids than expected.
I guess the main goal was to get consumers spending. If consumers are spending more then it is a good indicator that times are getting better.
This year major retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy opened their doors on Thanksgiving Day for eager shoppers to get an early start on Black Friday sales. There were people lining up in front the stores as early as 3pm Thanksgiving Day in order to be one of the first to get their hand on some goodies. According to Bloomberg.com, in order to get shoppers to spend more than last year, retailers have continued to turn Black Friday, originally a one-day event after Thanksgiving, into a week’s worth of deals and discounts. A couple of years ago chains started opening at midnight and this year Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Toys “R” Us Inc. pushed it to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Other chains began offering Black Friday deals online as early as last weekend.
So how much do earlier hours for Black Friday actually help businesses? Well Marshall Cohen, a retail analyst for NPD Group Inc. said that the Thanksgiving rush has turned Black Friday into what shopping is like on a typical Saturday. He also said that just because they extended hours doesn’t mean shoppers have more relatives to buy for and more money to spend. More hours doesn’t always mean more business.
This extension of the Black Friday sales onto Thanksgiving Day has sparked protests especially from Wal-Mart employees. More than 26 protests took place on Thanksgiving with less than 50 employees participating. Employees felt that earlier hours would give them less time celebrating with their families. Ironically the earlier start time attracted more parents and kids than expected.
I guess the main goal was to get consumers spending. If consumers are spending more then it is a good indicator that times are getting better.
